The Little Things
by Elzi Welzi
Summary: Selena spends some quality time with her daughter, and it becomes quite apparent that Midori didn't just inherit her mother's hair color.


**The Little Things**

* * *

Selena wakes up to the loud chirping outside her window, immediately annoyed even before she opens her eyes. Stupid, birds waking her up so early, didn't they know she was bone tired? She'd spent the entirety of last night reading Midori bedtime stories, unable to deny the five-year-old's wide pleading eyes and wobbling bottom lip. Then again Selena doubted she'd be able to deny Midori anything, even if she didn't pull out that undeniable pout.

She and Kaze spent so little time with Midori that they had trouble denying her anything, so when the little girl had begged so fervently for a story Selena had been hard-pressed to say no. It was also quite evident the Midori had inherited her mother's knack for persuasion because they had gone long into the night reading various stories until finally Midori had fallen asleep, long after Selena had waved Kaze off to bed considering he had spent the last week vigilantly watching over Corrin. She'd tucked Midori in shortly after the girl's eyes had closed, and finally crawled into bed with Kaze, the little sneak had wrapped an arm around her waist, obviously not fast asleep like she'd hoped.

Needless to say, when Kaze gently tried to wake her up several hours later to tell her breakfast was ready, she very genuinely threatened to break his arm.

Kaze knew her well enough not to insist.

No if only these birds was _be quiet_.

"Shut up already!" she nearly screamed, kicking off the blankets and angrily throwing a pillow at the window, still half asleep. Disgruntled, she glared at the pillow flopped uselessly on the floor before blowing out a tired sigh and finally standing to pick it up. Midday sunlight was streaming in through the window, and now being semi-coherent the chirping admittedly completed the waking ambience and wasn't _so_ bad. Wearily she began to make the bed, casting an annoyed glance to the window. "I'm awake now, are you happy?"

"Talking to birds, I must be going crazy… Or Benny…" she muttered tiredly as she finally finished fixing the sheets. She moved automatically, going about her morning routine as she usually did, the familiar and comforting action of tying up her pigtails coming as easily as breathing. It was only when she found herself scrabbling for armor she didn't bring with her that she realized that she was dressed in battle garb. "Stupid war, I barely even have time to think about fashion… Well doesn't matter I guess, I'm still gorgeous anyway."

With a small, nostalgic smile she stripped down to her underwear once more, pulling out a pale yellow sundress and donning it before throwing a smug smile to their small bedroom mirror. The house was quiet as she made her way to kitchen, a little unnerved by the silence compared to the hustle and bustle of their camp. She snagged the cup of coffee her husband had left out for her, gratefully making her way to the front porch to enjoy her breakfast in peace. The porch had been her favorite part of the house ever since they found it in this deep realm. She'd insisted upon this house the moment she saw this very porch, and had only fallen further and further in love with the place as a whole as her pregnancy progressed.

Many of the soldiers had expressed their surprise upon seeing the house she insisted on, most of them expected something as grandiose as her shopping hauls, well except for those two. Laslow had laughed brightly, the past twisting his mouth while Odin had blathered on and on about how the clutches of the past still held all of them in a tender twilight embrace… Or something like that. All Selena knew for sure was that this expansive one-story building with its wrap-around porch, wide windows, and surprisingly cozy attic had captured her heart, and she couldn't imagine a better house for her beloved daughter.

The fact that it resembled the house she had grown up in had nothing to do with it.

"Mama!" startled from her thoughts she jerked on reflex, a hand flying to a sword that wasn't there, only to relax as her husband and daughter emerged from the trees. Midori was sitting on her father's shoulders, her little legs caught up in her father's purple scarf as uncontrollable little giggles left her mouth. Selena had to hold back a laugh when she saw the little girl's hands clenching her father's green locks between her fingers in an obviously painful grip, which quickly turned into a glare when she realized the state her daughter was in. "Papa, put me down!"

"Well it seems someone's been on quite an adventure," she commented with a wrinkle of her nose. Midori's entired body was smudged with dirt, and several parts of her clothes were ripped, but she didn't seem to be injured in any way. Unless you considered the abysmal state of her hair an injury, twigs and leaves tangled in her shoulder length red hair. Completely blocking out the idea of the dirt rubbing off on this dress, she cuddled Midori closer and leveled a stern look at her husband. "Does someone want to explain?"

"She got a little excited while were collecting some herbs," he said, a fond little laugh escaping him even as she tried to glare her hardest at him. As if she could believe that, Kaze didn't exactly have subpar reflexes. He didn't wilt under her gaze though, instead he came forward easily enveloping the both of them in his arms and placing a kiss on her forehead before cheekily commenting. "Hey don't give me that look; she's got the speed and the stealth of a true ninja."

"Yeah right," was her snarky reply, attempting to keep her stern expression even as warmth blossomed in her chest and heat bloomed on her cheeks. Between them Midori giggled, causing both adults to glance down at her fondly. Gently, wholeheartedly unwilling to ruin the moment, Selena pulled herself from Kaze embrace, hiking Midori further up her hip before addressing him. "Well I'm going to get this little ninja in training to a bath before she ends up trailing dirt all over the house."

"Hm, I guess I'll start on lunch then," Kaze mused quietly.

"Don't you dare forget to wash up before," she quipped, moving past him to carry Midori into the house, quickly making her way to the bathroom. By this point the front of her dress had long been dirtied, but Selena just couldn't bring herself to be angry at her daughter as she giggled and babbled about all the amazing plants she and her father had collected.

"Bubble bath! Bubble bath!" the little girl chanted, as Selena opened the door with minor difficulties. She gently placed Midori on the floor, turning away from her for a moment to get the water running, making sure the temperature was just right since she know how _annoying_ it could be getting into a bath of too cold or hot water.

"Not today," Selena told her, finally putting her foot down. Midori pouted, but burst into a fit of giggles as Selena fondly tickled her stomach as she began taking off the girl's soiled clothes and placed her in the tub. Selena laughed along with her, thankful that Midori was such an obedient child and didn't squirm as Selena bathed her. It was considerably easy to get the basics over with, but she huffed in annoyance at the stupid tangle of twigs and leaves. "You can't keep going into the forest with your hair loose like this."

"Oooooh, then I want hair like Mama's!" Midori said excitedly, arms reaching out excitedly to hug one of Selena's pigtails. Selena was caught up feeling mild annoyance as well as undeniable fondness as she realized that her hair was getting soaked in the process, but quickly counteracted by how utterly adorable her daughter was.

"Like... mine?" Selena asked, then again it not like she put in extra funds into hair care products so no one would notice. "Well of course you would, my hair _is_ gorgeous."

"Yup, it's so pretty," Midori cooed, snuggling even closer to her mother's hair.

Selena couldn't help the small twinge of longing as watched their similarly red locks intermingle. After all this hair color was merely a disguise given by Anankos so she couldn't be traced back to her original identity of Severa. Her own locks were originally the same color of her father's, a darker hue altogether and a striking contrast to Cordelia's crimson hair. Selena often found herself wondering what Midori would look like with Selena's natural hair color

"Mama?" Midori wondered quietly, staring up at her with those curious violet eyes, the exact same shade as her father.

"It's nothing; Selena admonished her lightly. Finally getting the last of the twigs out of Midori's hair she applied shampoo and conditioner, lightly massaging her scalp which deterred the child for a couple seconds as she gratefully melted into her mother's gentle grip. "Haven't I told you before that it's rude to stare, even if the person is as lovely as your mother?"

"But you'll teach me, right? Right?" Selena didn't answer the question right away, instead gently pouring water over Midori's head for a final rinse.

"Of course I will," Selena said matter-of-factly. Picking up a towel she began to dry Midori's hair and body, fluffing up her hair teasingly. Snagging her special towels from the cupboard in the bathroom, she scooped up Midori and took her to her room. Once Midori was dressed, Selena diligently began rubbing through Midori's hair with the towel she had taken from the bathroom, it was an enchanted gift from Odin, possessing a simple little spell that would dry hair quickly and efficiently. "Stick with me my dear, and I'll make you just as beautiful as me."

Once Midori's hair was dry Selena gently went about parting it, digging about for some extra hair ties as she gently pulled her daughter's hair into a pair of neat pigtails. Once they were in place, she made a face at how bland they looked before putting the hairbrush back down.

"Give me a second," Selena said quietly, quickly making her way out of the room to make it back to her and Kaze's room to grab some of the spare black ribbons she used in her own hair. She laughed as Midori immediately ran up to her the moment she reentered the room, bending down to her daughter's height and steadying the little girl's shoulders before finally reaching up and tying the ribbons. Once she finished, she lead Midori back to the mirror and smoothed her pigtails one last time. "See, doesn't that look just lovely?"

"Oh, thank you so much, Mama!" Midori said happily, clapping her little hands together. She turned around, practically tackling her mother in a hug shortly afterward. "I love you so much!"

"I love you too, dear."

* * *

Selena still recalls that moment vividly, even years later when Midori is already a young woman capable of joining Corrin's army. Fighting side by side with her parents and very efficiently proving she's an adult. Selena won't ever admit it out loud, but it hurt when Midori started calling her Mother, saying that she had outgrown calling her parents Mama and Papa. The change was jarring, and it was a painful realization that the only reason she felt that way was solely because she and Kaze had visited Midori so little after the course of the war.

Even still, Selena found comfort in the fact despite all Midori's insistence she still wore her hair in two familiar pigtails.

* * *

 **And there we go, this is my rare as heck OTP for Selena. Say whatever you want about Subaki x Selena, and oh how Selena has to give birth to her own MOTHER,** **but I implore you to try and get Selena and Kaze's S rank.**

 **If you can sit through the raw emotion of Kaze asking Selena to not leave him in that support without shipping it even a little, then you have no soul. Plus he called her charming from the very beginning, and really the two of them together just gives me this unbearably warm and fuzzy feeling in my chest.**

 **So whatever your opinion is on this ship, leave me be. Because I love this Christmas colored twintail family way too much.**


End file.
